on the counters instead of breakfast food, then checked the clock. Of course. No one ate breakfast at one in the afternoon.
Deirdre paced in the kitchen, her attention on something beside her mate as Evershaw tried to get in her way and embrace her. No doubt the alpha wanted to reassure himself that she was fine when one of his pack was missing and it was out of his control. “The last few weeks, nothing has been as we expected. There is increased activity in our territory. Maybe. There are new coyotes and wolves out skulking in the night. Maybe. Perhaps none of this is real.”
“What do you mean?” Henry asked. He got a sinking feeling he could imagine what she meant, but he didn’t want to be the one to volunteer that it was even in part Ophelia’s fault.
“It’s got to be the sorcerer,” Deirdre said. Her eyes sparked with silver, an eerie reminder that she was far more powerful than she chose to display on a daily basis, and the hair on Henry’s arms stood up. Even Evershaw gave her a bit more room, though he kept his hand on her shoulder. The witch’s frown deepened. “Perhaps he was just trying to draw us out, to see how we worked, before he chose to strike. But why Silas?”
“Why not Silas?” Evershaw’s voice held more of a growl than a human’s throat was meant to make. “If the bastard wants to hurt us, he’d strike at whoever made an easy target. I’m guessing he doesn’t fight fair, so he probably sneaked up on the kid. Or maybe he actually does have coyotes and wolves working for him—or enslaved by him—and used them to surround Silas. Doesn’t matter. We have to find him.”
“We will,” Henry said. He finished loading the plate and turned. “I’ll get the team together and we’ll start hunting.”
“Bring Ophelia to my workroom,” Deirdre said. She moved serenely through the kitchen even though lightning crackled through the air in a growing storm around her. “We have work to do. I meant to give her more time to practice, but we need her strength.”
Henry tensed, feeling protective of his mate, and barely swallowed a growl of warning. Evershaw would have killed him for even a hint of a threat to his mate, with the pack being unbalanced in Silas’s absence. Henry struggled for control, gripping the plates full of sandwiches until they nearly shattered in his hands. “I will…ask if she is up for it.”
Deirdre nodded and began to drift toward the front of the house, Evershaw practically stepping on her heels as he demanded to know who he needed to kill to make things better. Henry followed but stopped short as the other two stopped in their tracks. He took a sharp breath and elbowed around the alpha the moment he saw Ophelia standing on the stairs. She gripped the bannister, her face pale, and swayed as she tried to keep her balance.
She stared at all three of them, her eyes wide and shining with tears, and said, “I’m so sorry,” before crumpling and almost tumbling down the rest of the stairs.
He leapt forward, the plates shattering on the floor, to catch her.
Chapter 33
Ophelia
I wanted to hide in his room all day, since it felt like my cheeks would always be red. Everyone in the house had to know that I’d slept with Henry, and even though I suspected there would be no judgment—maybe some congratulations or teasing—it still took more courage than I had to swing out of bed and march forth as confidently as Deirdre no doubt would have.
When Henry left, I scrambled to take a shower and find some clean clothes, and remembered to find the pajamas and underwear he’d thrown all over the place the previous night. My head ached with... well, with something. It wasn’t embarrassment, not exactly. Just…wonder at where I’d found the confidence to ask for what I wanted, to offer what I was willing to give, to... to ride him like a cowgirl and love every second of it.
I laughed and covered my face, shaking my head. Bright moon above us, I never would have predicted enjoying it that much. Or enjoying watching him watch me, watching him enjoy me. Listening to him growling and groaning and grunting... I’d been right. He made the most amazing noises during sex, and it just fed into the lust that had consumed me all night.